FRUITS AND VEGETABLES CONSUMPTION CAN REDUCE MORTALITY.

A European study analyzes the relationship
between fruit and vegetable consumption
and the risk of mortality. As previous
research has already suggested, this study
concludes that fruit and vegetable
consumption reduces all-cause mortality,
and especially cardiovascular disease
mortality.
The benefits of fruit and vegetable
consumption are not a new discovery.
However, new research confirms their role
in reducing mortality. This reduction is
more significant in the case of deaths from
cardiovascular disease.
The analysis, recently published in the
'American Journal of Epidemiology', was
directed by researchers from ten
countries, including Spain, as part of the
European Prospective Investigation into
Cancer and Nutrition .
The sample analyzed includes 25,682
deaths (10,438 due to cancer and 5,125
due to cardiovascular disease) among the
451,151 participants studied over more
than 13 years.
"This study is the most significant
epidemiological study that this association
has examined to date," MarÃa José SÃ
¡nchez Pérez, director of the Andalusian
School of Public Health's (EASP) Granada
Cancer Registry and one of the authors of
the research, explains to SINC.
According to the results, a combined fruit
and vegetable consumption of more than
569 grams per day reduces the risk of
mortality by 10% and delays the risk of
mortality by 1.12 years compared to a
consumption of less than 249 grams per
day.
Furthermore, for every 200 gram increase
in daily fruit and vegetable consumption,
the risk falls by 6%. The proportion of
deaths that could be prevented if everyone
eating too few fruit and vegetables
increased their consumption by 100-200
grams per day — thus reaching the
recommended 400-500 grams per day — is
2.9%.
Previous studies already noted that fruit
and vegetable consumption, in accordance
with the recommended daily allowance,
prevents the development of chronic
diseases, and reduces the risk of mortality
by 10-25%.
"There is now sufficient evidence of the
beneficial effect of fruit and vegetable
consumption in the prevention of cancer
and other chronic diseases," Sánchez
states, "for this reason, one of the most
effective preventative measures is
promoting their consumption in the
population."
Fruit for the heart
A diet rich in fruit and vegetables reduces
the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality
by 15%. Furthermore, more than 4% of
deaths due to cardiovascular disease could
be prevented by consuming more than 400
grams of fruit and vegetables a day.
Considering fruit consumption separately,
no significant risk reduction was observed,
whereas vegetable consumption alone was
associated with a lower risk of mortality,
which was even more significant for raw
vegetables: high consumption reduces the
risk of mortality by 16 per cent.
"With regard to cancer mortality, no
statistically significant risk reduction was
found, although it will be necessary to
assess this according to specific types of
cancer," Sánchez adds.
Nevertheless, the expert highlights that
given that fruit and vegetable consumption
is associated with the risk of certain
cancers — colon and rectal, stomach, lung,
etc. — it is to be expected that their
consumption will also have a positive effect
on mortality due to these tumours.